ART

“Much Ado about Color,” the new exhibit running through June 8 at the Lafayette Gallery features a colorful collection of wonderful and colorful works of art by a small group of four artists: painters Judy Feins, Jill Landau, and Geoff Meredith and sculptor and painter Judy Miller. So stop by the gallery, and color yourself happy with the creations of our local artists! For info, call (925) 284-2788 or visit www.lafayettegallery.net.

The Moraga Art Gallery announces a new show entitled “Beauty and the Feast,” highlighting paintings by resident artist Josie Osolin, and ceramics by resident artist Elayne Isaacs, June 5 through Aug. 10 in the Rheem Shopping Center, 522 Center Street, Moraga. There will be an opening reception on from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 8. Free. The show also includes works by the gallery’s 14 resident artists and several guest artists. For more info, visit www.moragaartgallery.com.

Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art will present Points of View with Mary Lou Correia and Paul Kratter, two of the East Bay’s most vibrant and spontaneous en plein air painters through Sept. 22. Marc Chagall: Stories of the Bible, which runs through July 7, features 16 etchings from one of his greatest bodies of work: the Bible series from the 1930s. Additional ongoing exhibits featuring western landscape paintings, European paintings, statuary, and a variety of other media through July 15. Admission: $5 adults, K-12 free. Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For info, call (925) 631-3379 or visit www.stmarys -ca.edu/ saint -marys-college-museum-of-art. See also story on page B2.

MUSIC

Rat Pack Tribute in Song - Mark Shaw, Vocalist, and Violinist. Shaw delivers a high-energy, bewitching performance of richly interpreted standards and popular songs from the ‘20s through the ‘60s from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, June 7 in the Sequoia Room, Lafayette Community Center. Light refreshments provided by Byron Park Assisted Living and Senior Helpers Home Care. Cost: $1 members; $3 non-members. Please call Lafayette Senior Services to reserve your spot at (925) 284-5050.

Experience the joy of singing in a community of talented and dedicated women! WomenSing is holding auditions Monday, June 10 and by appointment for experienced singers. All voice parts are welcome. Scholarships are available for qualified singers. For info, email audition@womensing.org or call (925) 974-9169.

Summer Concert Series at the Moraga Commons Park from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday evenings provided by the Moraga Park Foundation.  Bring your picnic blanket or lawn chairs to the grassy hillside in front of the bandshell and enjoy the free concerts. Concession stand opens at 6 p.m. for dinner. June schedule: Thursday, June 20 Mixed Nuts – Decades of Rock; Thursday, June 27 Because – Beatles Tribute.

The ‘Rock the Plaza’ series will take place Friday nights in June at Lafayette’s [Plaza Park] at the corner of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and Moraga Road. The headliners start at 6:30 p.m. and are presented free of charge. Arrive a little early for a good spot on the lawn. This year’s lineup: Friday, June 14 Azure Moon; Friday, June 21 The Floorshakers; and Friday, June 28 The Buzztones. 

Enjoy a magical evening of song with The Phoenix Children's Chorus and Piedmont Children’s Choir performing favorites of the season at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 15 at the Saint Mary's College Soda Center.  The show will be highlighted by the combined grand finale with both choirs. The Phoenix Children’s Chorus is on tour in the East Bay Area and has toured the world representing Arizona and the United States. Tickets: $5 General admission adults; children free.

The Summer Music Series returns to the Orinda Library this season with music for the whole family. At 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 19, the Orinda Library welcomes back hometown favorites, The Real Placebos, as they kick off the series with American Roots Music at 26 Orinda Way, Orinda. The free series is sponsored by the Friends of the Orinda Library. For more info on the music series as well as the Summer Reading Festival, please visit the library website at ccclib.org or call (925) 254-2184.

Benefit Taiko Drum Concert to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will feature Tatsumaki Taiko, the Berkeley-based percussion group dedicated to celebrating the rhythms of diversity through the sound of traditional taiko drums, at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 30 at Lafayette Library and Learning Center, Outdoor Amphitheatre, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette (weather dependent). Free, with 100 percent tax deductible donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society requested. For info, call (925) 284-3256.

THEATER

Town Hall Theatre closes out its 2012-2013 Season with William Shakespeare's “Measure for Measure.” Set in a fictionalized Vienna, the local government instates laws to control a populace that it feels has fallen into moral decay. The production will run through June 15. It is rated PG for some suggestive moments. Contact Town Hall Theatre Box Office for tickets at (925) 283-1557, or purchase online at www.TownHallTheatre.com.

2013 Dance on Film Festival kicks off with Brigadoon: Lerner and Loewe's legendary Broadway musical starring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. The movie will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6 at the Lafayette Library Community Hall, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd. The screening begins with fascinating, behind-the-scenes facts on the making of this classic movie with Lauren Jonas, Diablo Ballet Artistic Director, and Beau Behan, host of Beau’s Flicks & Nix, on the Comcast Hometown Network, Ch. 104. Presented by Diablo Ballet and Lafayette Library & Learning Center. Cost: $5.

Onstage Theatre Company presents “100 Lunches,” by Jack Sharkey and Leo W. Sears, directed by Helen Means at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, June 6, and at 8:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 7-8 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. Tickets: $22 general; $17 seniors; and $10 youth to 17. Thursday's performance is $12 everyone except youth. For tickets call (925) 943-SHOW (7469) or for more info, visit onstagetheatre.homestead.com.

LECTURE & LITERATURE

Poet Jean Lyford signs her book “Remembrances” at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 13 at Orinda Books. For more info, call (925) 254-7606.

Josh Niles will discuss how to hear and trust divine intuition in his presentation, “Spiritual Training: Learning to Listen” from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, June 30 at The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 650 Danville Blvd, Danville. Free. Child care provided. For more info, call (925)-837-1081.

KIDS, PARENTS & TEENS

Campolindo sophomore Sam Larson is collecting new and gently used toys, books, sports equipment, athletic/sports/dance clothing, outerwear, shoes, accessories and backpacks for a give-away shop in San Pablo in September. Items are for boys and girls ages preschool to 18. Donations may be dropped off at 243 Paseo del Rio (email californiasam22@gmail.com or call (925) 284-8142 for pick up or questions). This project is in conjunction with the San Pablo Recreation Department. Donations will be accepted throughout the summer.

The new Design Quest exhibit at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley provides young people with a platform for generating ideas and designing, building and testing their creations through Sept. 2. By building prototypes and optimizing them, kids get a chance to apply a process used by real engineers to solve problems. The Hall is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission: $6–12; children under 3, members, and UC Berkeley students and staff, free. For more info on the exhibit, visit www.lawrencehallofscience.org/visit/exhibits/design_build_test/design_quest or call (510) 642-5132.

Downtown Lafayette History Treasure Hunt.  Discover how much you know about downtown Lafayette's history (or you can learn more) by participating in a fun family-friendly Father's Day weekend outing at 5 p.m. Friday, June 14.  Clues and instructions will be emailed to participants. The clues will give directions to markers or plaques at 14 different historical sites in downtown Lafayette. Information found on a marker or plaque will answer a question specific to that location. Answers to the clues must be emailed to the Historical Society by 5 p.m. Sunday, June 16. There will be a prize drawing from among those answering all of the questions correctly. If you are interested, please register on the Historical Society's website at www.lafayettehistory.org  or email lafayette.history@comcast.net by 6 p.m. Thursday, June 13.

OTHER

Mount Diablo Adult Education (MDAE) has a large selection of excellent woodworking courses for the spring. Hand Tools course teaches how to select, set up, maintain, and use the most necessary hand tools in a workshop. Twelve classes are offered from 1 to 4 p.m. through June 28. Students may register online at www.mdusd.k12.ca.us/adulted/lifelongeducation.htm or at the Pleasant Hill MDAE office on One Santa Barbara road, Room 210.

The Stroke Support Group of Contra Costa County will feature Dr. Jim Otis, Chiropractic Neurology, who will discuss "Healing Your Brain: New Developments in Functional Neurology" from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, June 10 in the Ball Auditorium at John Muir Medical Center- Walnut Creek Campus, 1601 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek.  After the program, attendees will break up into three coping groups: stroke survivors without aphasia, stroke survivors with aphasia, and caregivers and families of stroke survivors -- each group led by a trained professional. For info about the Stroke Support Group, contact Ann Dzuna at (925) 376-6218. Free.

Motorama World of Wheels Car Show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 16 on Golden Gate Way in Lafayette is presented by the Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise. Free. For more info, visit www.motorama.us.

Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian Church Taize’ service is at 7 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month. In the candle-lit Sanctuary, the quiet songs, silence, and scripture with no sermon invite you to be still. Child care is provided if there are at least three children and two business days notice. Email Susan Wentworth at childcare@LOPC.org.  For other questions, contact Nancy@lopc.org.

The Chabot Space & Science Center volunteer orientation is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 29 in the majestic Oakland hills. A variety of volunteer shifts are available during the day Tuesday through Sunday as well as Friday and Saturday evenings. Observatory deck volunteers and Exhibit Guides engage our school groups and families in interactive demonstrations and help inspire the next generation of scientists, teachers, engineers, innovators and dreamers. For more info and to RSVP for orientation, visit chabotspace.org or email the Volunteer Department at           volunteers@chabotspace.org.

SENIORS

Do you knit or crochet but wish you could do it in a more social setting with people of similar interests? Wish that you had someone of equal or greater expertise to brainstorm with when instructions make no sense? Join us to work on your current project while enjoying an afternoon of camaraderie from 1 to 3 p.m. June 6 and 20 at the Lafayette Community Center, Elderberry Room. All levels are welcome and encouraged. There is no formal instruction in this drop-in group held on the first and third Thursday each month.  Cost: $1 members; $3 non-members per session.

Looking for a good book to talk about with others? Join this brand-new, informal group of book lovers and enjoy enrichment, discussion, fellowship and refreshments from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 18 at the Lafayette Community Center, Elderberry Room. Cost: $1 member; $3 non-member.